Guess Where the Heart Lies
by Gabi v
Summary: Asuka and Mari are left alone in Misato's apartment one Saturday night.


Asuka really hated Saturdays. They usually meant watching Misato go on a "mature" date with Kaji, only to return after midnight or call Asuka to let her know she would be spending the night in the man's apartment. _What a disgusting behavior for an adult_, she would think after hanging up the phone. _I'll never be like that, not like her_, she continued on, determined to ignore the fact that, some day, she'll succumb to those adult matters too. And yet, it was becoming harder and harder to fight those bodily urges that made puberty hell for people like her, the kind that didn't want to give in. Especially when she slowly found out that the impulses were not limited to boys alone.

_ Damn it all_.

"What did Misato say?" A voice asked from the living room. It was joyful and had a strange rhythm to it, but its slight huskiness was unmistakeable.

Saturdays really weren't that bad. The truly worst part of it all was that girl, Mari Illustrious Makinami. Talk about egotistical. Asuka wondered if all British people were as weird, uninhibited, and outright defiant of the concept of personal space as Mari was. Living with Shinji had been an annoying ordeal. But at least he followed orders, was docile, and was a good cook.

Mari, aka "four-eyes," was more exhausting to deal with. She always had something to say back, something to question the German's authority. Always wanting to get close, by going in for a hug, a cuddle, a caress to the cheek, _anything_ . All the while putting a smug grin to complement those stupid looking glasses. The girl was blind as a bat. And couldn't cook if her own life depended on it.

So it was by Asuka's divine fate that Misato officially adopted Mari shortly after the foreign girl joined NERV. Shinjis room was now Mari's but, after three months, Asuka still didn't know what it looked like. Just like Mari's head. The brunette seemed so happy all the time with who she was and what she did and how she did it that it genuinely intrigued her more reserved counterpart. Asuka often asked herself if Mari could she be capable of feeling other things, like sadness, anger, or contempt? Such a curious creature.

"She won't be coming tonight, as usual". Asuka said after letting out a weary sigh.

She made her way from the kitchen to the living room and placed the phone back in its base. Mari was slumped on the floor with her head resting on the sofas center, eating a generous portion of some sort of ice cream from an Eva-08 shaped cup. She curiously looked up at her roommate, who was retreating to her room.

"Hey, where are you going? Skins is about to start!" Mari encouragingly told Asuka. It really was a stupid show. To the highly educated Asuka it was nothing more than a bunch of pubescent kids trying to get what a bunch of pubescent kids need: insignificant sex and drugs. But somehow, with the passage of time, it became bearable. Although, why Asuka watched it in the first place was to enjoy the little company she had, even if it was with Mari.

"I'm tired four eyes, I'm going to sleep."

"But its only seven thirty. Common, you told me you wanted to watch it tonight with me! Just a while?" Mari insisted.

_ She acts just like a child_.

Asuka let go another tired breath and walked over to the dark sofa that Kaji had bought for them.

"Fine."

Asuka sat down on the somewhat cold leather and laid back, letting the comfortable material adjust to her form. _Ah, this feels nice_, Asuka thought as her body started to hurt less. Months have passed since the Eva-03 incident, but the recovery was still slow. During the first month Asuka completely lost her desire to eat, forcing the doctors to feed her via IV, and she couldn't go near an Eva, even her precious Unit 02, without feeling her insides wanting to come out. Although her condition had improved somewhat, the frequent fatigue and anxiety attacks were really taking a toll on Asuka as well as on her performance. She knew the higher ups at NERV were hectic for a replacement, but the mere idea of it drove her mad. The thought of being replaced, being forgotten, disposed of, insignificant.

_ Stop it Asuka. Don't. _

Asuka's face furrowed as she tried to silence the thoughts, but it relaxed once more as she felt a slight heat in her leg. Although _on_ her leg was more accurate. She looked down and saw a wave of familiar dark brown hair. It was Mari.

As usual, the girl rested on some part of Asuka, either on her leg, her lap, or on her shoulder when sharing popcorn, something that occasionally triggered Mari to fall asleep and cause the latter to lash out. Asuka Langley Shikinami was nobody's pillow. Frankly, she never understood how Mari didn't have a problem asking for what she wanted so bluntly,

"Hey Asuka, wanna go look at pets with me?"

"Try this one on! It'll make you look like a hot biker chick."

"Here, let me help you with the bandages"

"Want to hang out after the synch tests? I'm buying your favorite chocolates :3"

"I'm having trouble sleeping, can I sleep with you?"

Asuka couldn't do that, not anymore at least. With the death of her mother, life turned into them vs her, and after years of forcefully adulthood, without the help of a single soul, how exactly does one learn to need someone, to want someone again? Asuka, completely guided by her pride, lost the ability to reach out. Hence, no matter how much time they spent together, Maris attention and detail towards her felt alien; although very deep down, it felt like bliss. She never knew _friendship_ could make her feel so special, so much more than any piloting praise.

For a split second, Asuka felt the strange urge to graze her hand through Mari's hair. The British would do that a lot to Asuka, whether it was solicited or not, but the soothing effect was indescribable. And she wanted to reciprocate the feeling. That's what friends do, right?

The tv show had gone ahead without Asuka, and when she snapped out of her daze all she could make sense of was one of the protagonists wanting to make a party so that his shy friend would loose his virginity.

_ God this is stupid, how can Mari keep watching this crap?  
_

Just as two kids were about to kiss, the screen turned pitch black.

"What happened? Weren't you dying to watch that stupid show?"

Mari turned her head to face Asuka, squishing the girls thigh beneath her chin just enough. "Yeah, but whats the point if you're not enjoying it?"

"What? I'm enjoying it."

Mari twisted her body and propped herself on the sofa with an arm on each side of Asuka's hips. "No you're not," she refuted in a serious tone, edging closer to the second child.

_ She's so close._ Asuka felt the leather give in under Mari's weight. She buried herself deeper into the sofa in an attempt to create distance between them, but she couldn't stop a blush from forming on her cheeks.

"I AM enjoying it," Asuka spat back. Her temper was already beginning to heat up. She absolutely hated it when Mari presumptuously stated what she was feeling because, in most cases, four-eyes was right. The traditional smug grin formed on Mari's lips as she noticed how the slight tinge on her partners face matched her reddish hair.

"You're aroused so easily it's almost cute, Asuka."

_ A-aroused easily!? That's it._

"Yeah, coming from the person who kissed three guys on the Christmas party. Spells more like 'whore' to me." The memory was short but concise. Mari thought that hiding in a dark corner of the room would be enough, but not to Asuka's eyes. She remembered the way that lowly NERV technician kissed her wildly, and the way his hands roamed over her shirt, begging for so much more. It was all a mess of moving shadows and barely audible whispers. But most of all she remembers the disgust she felt, alongside all that unwelcome sadness that leaked from her heart. Was she not worthy of that kind of attention?

Mari wasn't the least offended by Asuka's words. Instead, her typical grin continued to tease the German, "Say what you want, princess, at least I can control what I feel and when to feel it. You, on the other hand, don't know how to disguise the anticipation on your face."

"I don't have to take this from you. Get off." Asuka's said through clenched teeth.

"Oooh, did I strike a nerve?"

"GET OFF." The girl was almost yelling now.

"If you're so confident in that you indeed can control yourself, princess, lets make a bet."

"I don't have to prove anything to you, four-eyes."

"Turning down a challenge, Captain? Those who possess the skill have nothing to hide."

It was at times like these that Asuka hated having such a willful pride. If she backed down now, who knows for how long Mari will tease her about it, not to mention what sort of things she would say to the crew members. If something Asuka has learned from living with Mari, it was that the girl was capable of doing _anything_. If she won this stupid game of hers, it would all be over and her happy go lucky way of life would continue normally.

"Fine, whats this 'bet' of yours?" Asuka finally said, crossing her arms.

"Well, its more of a game really. But it's easy, listen well..."

As Mari's words and gestures brought her ideas to life, Asuka's expression quickly changed from that of annoyance, to "oh my god, you can't be serious", to one with a thick mix of anxiety and anticipation. Silence filled the room after all was said an done. Asuka was now averting Mari's gaze by looking at the house phone, begging for it to ring and be Misato saying she's on her way home. But nothing ringed, and none of them moved. Mari's eyes had turned dark with mischief.

"What's it going to be, princess?" The German captain looked up with a slight frown on her face, hard with determination.

"I accept."

Mari gave another trademark smile as she leaned in closer to raise herself from the sofa. She silently offered a small token to her partner, whom looked at it puzzlingly before slowly accepting it.

Mari gently enclosed her hand around Asuka's and lead the way to her room.


End file.
